Cruella

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Cruella is the origin story of a young Cruella de Vil who rises from homeless street urchin to anti-hero fashion heiress. After features like The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Mulan I've grown a bit tired of the live-action adaptation efforts because they've been lacking a sense of creative vision. Cruella is like a breath of fresh air by comparison, an origin that is styled to a 70s punk aesthetic with an anti-hero protagonist I never thought I'd find so fascinating. As an antagonist Cruella de Vil has been remembered as the wild woman chasing Dalmatian puppies down with her roaring auto-mobile, but this film anchors on to familiar traits while defining this why this particular woman is worthy of being an immortalised Disney villain. Watching how this young woman has always wrestled with a more aggressive, impulsive side before straightening out as a means of keeping a promise to her deceased mother; you grow attached to Cruella as she fends for herself on the streets of London. Yet the passion she holds for fashion and design pushes her beyond this desperate lifestyle, but also forces her to confront the demons of her past. When Cruella is pushed to a point of no return by a revelation of her past the timid, earnest facade cracks and that aggressive fighter returns to the forefront to face off against her mentor turned rival. Just seeing how well the character development is written for this role is brilliant, Cruella is a fighting force to be reckoned with and grows into her antagonistic traits nicely. From a genre perspective I also really liked how it juggled a heist film with revenge elements, all while telling a sort of coming of age tale. Cruella de Vil could've had any background but seeing her use her fashion ability as a weapon against those she has to face is a very impressive thing and works brilliantly alongside the punk aesthetic. The cinematography for this film is really fun, setting up gorgeous shots that highlight ke fashion and action moments alike. The special effects that we see aren't the most impressive for a Disney feature but the way things like the fall from the cliff or the moth swarm are shown certainly leave their mark. The soundtrack for this feature is a brilliant collection of tracks; there are comedic tracks but also anthems of empowerment and rebellion which strike right to the theme of the film.

 

Emma Stone, who played Cruella, is absolutely exemplary as the titular character; Stone dances with cunning and mad temper as if her role was on the edge of a knife throughout the film and this is a performance that has given new life to a classic character. Joel Fry, who played Jasper, is really charming as the pickpocket who has grown up and helped out Cruella; I thought Fry played to his character's trepidation and even bitterness towards Cruella's change in persona well. Paul Walter Hauser, who played Horace, is a comedic powerhouse throughout the whole feature; a kindly thief with a heart of gold who is very loyal to his family from the streets. John McCrea, who played Artie, is a fantastic fashion ally and friend to Cruella; I think McCrea plays strongly to the thrill of the film and has a role who works well with both sides of Cruella's personality. Emily Beecham, who played Catherine, is a very morally good figure who struggles under the pressure of impoverished living and raising a temperamental Cruella; the genuine love Beecham plays and care she shows for the young Cruella sets a lot of the more positive themes for the film. Jamie Demetriou, who played Gerald, is absolutely hilarious as the stiff, uppity manager of the Baroness department store; his stark frustration with Cruella is tempered nicely with his lilting polite facade in front of customers. Tipper Seifert-Cleveland, who played Estella (12 Years), is a brilliant young performer with a solid career ahead if this performance is anything to go by; Seifert-Cleveland plays well to the flairs in temper and vulnerable grief that Stone delves into deeper as the feature progresses.

However, the best performance came from Emma Thompson, who played The Baroness. This is a role who feels like power walking, she radiates control in almost all of her scenes. Thompson has this restrained manner of presenting her character, a stern manner that is meant to intimidate others and tell the world exactly who is in charge without question. I enjoyed those subtle moments of insecurity we see from the Baroness when Cruella begins undercutting her or when she begins taking ideas from Estella/Cruella unflinchingly. This role is brilliant because she has an unbelievable ego which is well earned thanks to her incredible success and prowess, yet it also leads to her hubris. Thompson and Stone have a wonderful onscreen chemistry both as mentor and student, and as rivals at one another's throats. The Baroness is the perfect foil to pit Cruella de Vil against and Thompson creates a figure somehow more sinister than the lead role.

Cruella is one of the best live action Disney adaptations I've seen since Aladdin, but it isn't without flaws. I thought the change from Estella to Cruella comes as quite the harsh switch at first; it takes awhile to really keep up with the change in character because this villainous side comes out very swiftly. I think the film relied on us perceiving her temperamental childhood being enough foreshadowing but it was clear they needed to do a bit more leg work. While it was fun seeing Cruella and the Baroness go head to head for most of the film it was very difficult to believe the protagonist's foe was unable to unmask her fashion foe sooner. I also found the delivery of Cruella's secret past and lost fortune to be a bit of an extravagance, the film had a nice fashion feud going but that twist took a bit of a soap opera angle even if it did lead to a great final confrontation. The Darlings being in this film was a nice nod to the original film but neither role ever really did a thing to enhance the feature.

Mark Strong, who played John the Valet, is an absolutely wasted choice of casting; Strong languishes in a dull background figure who only ever steps in to dish out exposition. Kayvan Novak, who played Roger, really does nothing of significance in the film; Novak may well appear in this film but he is overshadowed by the easter egg that is his character's identity and link to the original film. Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who played Anita Darling, never really plays to either her role's profession nor her character's link to the protagonist; I never believed for a second that Howell-Baptiste and Stone were portraying an old friendship which failed to set things up for any future stories to be told.

 

A really inventive, unique take on a classic Disney villain with a phenomenal cast all round. I would give Cruella a 7.5/10.

Army Of The Dead

 This review may contain spoilers!

Army Of The Dead follows a group of mercenaries attempting to retrieve 200 million dollars from a vault under the Las Vegas strip. However, this is no Ocean's 11; the city of Las Vegas is walled off, zombie-infested and due to be nuked out of existence in a matter of hours. This is a film that sets out with highlighting a very unique type of zombie outbreak, a very tense moment in which the disease gets loose and then a highly aesthetic opening detailing the unique depiction of Vegas falling to the zombie plage. I think the very concept of this film being about a highly skilled group of fighters immediately ups the stakes somewhat; normally a zombie story has a ragtag group of everyday people adapting to becoming survivors in a hostile world. But these characters are already survivors, this is a colourful collection of some of the best possible infiltrators for an operation like this. I actually think the strongest element of the film is the visual component, the cinematography blends high octane action shots with stunning and creative special effects moments. The effects themselves compliment the visual nature of this film; with the design of the zombie animals in particular being a nice touch. The score for Army Of The Dead is nothing to really brag about but the soundtrack is exceptional, a number of setting themed or comedically timed tracks that up the tone in each of their respective scenes.

 

Theo Rossi, who played Burt Cummings, is a fantastic minor antagonist for the first and second act of this feature; Rossi plays a very sleazy military guard who abuses his power in cruel ways at every turn he gets. Nora Arnezeder, who played Lilly, is a very grim role borne of the strange creativity of this feature; Arnezeder presents a cold yet highly effective survivor who navigates through the zombie wasteland with confidence. Garret Dillahunt, who played Martin, is another minor antagonist who really made his mark felt; Dillahunt feels like he holds more cards than the rest of the characters and double crosses them at a number of ill-fated turns. Samantha Win, who played Chambers, felt like a fighting force to be reckoned with; Chambers might have only been a minor role but the way in which Win played to her survival instinct made her by far one of the coolest characters to watch onscreen.

However, the best performance came from Matthias Schweighöfer, who played Dieter. In a lot of ways I think this character represented what this film wanted to be; your classic zombie film character with a seriously heightened twist. In the case of Dieter he is an experienced safe cracker but an absolutely rubbish fighter surrounded by a team of elite fighting force. Schweighöfer has such a light charisma that you warm to him instantly, his humour can be a little crude but he has a sort of innocence about him that makes him an immediate favourite. Watching Dieter nervously navigate areas he isn't comfortable in to then commanding his field of expertise is a hilarious contrast. I also have to admit that I loved Schweighöfer's onscreen chemistry with Hardwick; te pair had a friendship that may well have been the best character interaction in the film.

Army Of The Dead is a fun concept, taking the classic zombie genre and heightening it with better survivors and better zombies. The problem is that the story doesn't rise to meet the vision, ultimately handing the viewer all the elements of a generic zombie feature with over the top elements that feel forced. The film opens with a long montage teaching us how Vegas fell to the zombie virus while also pointing out a number of key survivors and their backstories in what is undeniably a pretty messy means of introduction. We actually have to wait till quite a while later to really piece together the main cast and what really motivates them. The film quibbles in strange details such as protest groups who want the zombies to be kept alive, a President who thought it would be 'cool' to nuke Vegas on the Fourth of July and a refugee camp that has a dedicated number of people who keep trying to break into Vegas for very obscure reasons. The film really does crumple when it tries too hard to tell a story, the main character trying to patch up his relationship with his daughter while leading an excursion into hostile undead territory never really lands nor finds the heart it needs. The romantic sub-plot that weirdly blooms as the final act kicks off between Ward and Cruz only reduces a cool character to a love interest. The weird corporate guy double-crossing the team in an attempt to steal a zombie head instead is not only a predictable twist but one that never truly serves the story. The fact our heroes are fighting super zombies for a lot of the film who are intelligent, fast and rarely eat people actually takes the scare factor out of the film. Watching these very weird undead nuzzle each other, perform hand to hand combat and have some strange pregnancy subplot is perhaps some of the weirdest stuff I've seen in the zombie genre in a while. The film does inevitably what every zombie film does, tease hope for success before butchering almost all of the cast and hinting that one of the few survivors is carrying the virus in an attempt to tease an undeserved sequel.

Dave Bautista, who played Scott Ward, proved he really didn't have the ability to lead an action blockbuster in this film; Bautista really fumbled to play a convincing father figure or tactically minded mercenary fighter. Ella Purnell, who played Kate Ward, gave the most angst-driven rebellious daughter role I've seen in a while; Purnell and Bautista struggle to be a convincing father/daughter match-up. Omari Hardwick, who played Vanderohe, was pretty stereotypical action film fodder; Hardwick was built in to be a stoic guy who blasted and punched his way through problems with little character involved. Ana de la Reguera, who played Maria Cruz, is a somewhat interesting character before the film stuffs her into the love interest role; de la Reguera goes from tough ex-survivor to pining for Bautista in the blink of an eye which ruined a lot of her role. Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Bly Tanaka, is not having a good year for roles between this and Mortal Kombat; Sanada's cheesy mustache-twirling billionaire is a hard watch. Tig Notaro, who played Marianne Peters, was digitally added into the film during post-production and it kinda showed; Notaro does her level best to be a comedic power for the film but she feels out of place in her scenes and the fact none of the cast really acknowledge her is pretty apparent. Raul Castillo, who played Mikey Guzman, is some strange social media gunman who is there to be present in action scenes and little more; Castillo never actually comes across as the cool famous shooter he is playing and is swiftly eclipsed by Win's performance. Huma Qureshi, who played Geeta, is in this film to complicate the plot without ever really being a character; Qureshi's surface level portrayal of an upset Mum never matters for much and the film even forgets to show her final fate.

Zack Snyder has a brilliant manner of presenting a stunning visual feature without actually crafting a film that has any substance in terms of narrative. I would give Army Of The Dead a 5.5/10.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Those Who Wish Me Dead follows Hannah, a smoke jumper who encounters a young teenager in the Montana wilderness fleeing from a pair of hit-men. Hannah's survival skills are put to the test as she aids the young boy in hiding from the assassins while an intense forest fire threatens to engulf them all. I really enjoyed how the film placed us with this small Montana woodland community, a very rural town that was primed for forest fires and trained for survival. Watching a main protagonist like Hannah struggle to cope with the trauma of a prior forest fire operation is a great setup for her second chance in saving young Connor. Watching the film heighten the action stakes of this film by watching the two assassins professionally take prisoners and murder targets and bystanders alike is very gripping. More than anything seeing this pair be overpowered by forces they can't anticipate or control is as great as it is when our heroes manage to overpower them (even if only for a moment). The score for the film aids to the tense atmosphere, with this nail-biting warble as the antagonists or the forest fire grow ever closer to destroying our protagonists.

 

Angelina Jolie, who played Hannah, presents a protagonist in the film who is very easy to connect with and feel for; the way Jolie shows her role dealing with personal demons while trying to overcome an intense survival scenario is gripping. Aidan Gillen, who played Jack, really gets you quite invested in the hit men aspect of the story; Gillen crafts an antagonist who feels very professional and deadly while also incredibly stressed and pushed to the limits by the standards of his job. Medina Senghore, who played Allison, really steals the show as this tough as nails pregnant survival expert who outwits the assassins at multiple turns; I loved watching Senghore and Bernthal onscreen together as this presented a very respectful and likeable husband and wife duo.

However, the best performance came from Jon Bernthal, who played Ethan. This character is the deputy sheriff of the rural Montana town and has a very charismatic, familiar relationship with those he protects. In particular, watching the tough love relationship Bernthal established with jolie early on was brilliant; he clearly respected this woman who was spiralling from guilt a lot but was also trying a firm hand to save her from reckless impulses. Seeing Ethan as this settled guy with a brilliant wife and a steady future laid out for himself who still manages to genuinely place the wellbeing of his town before himself makes this role the quiet hero of this film. Bernthal calmly following the orders of the assassins when he is captured in a procedural way grounds the film. Yet when he blows up and begins to verbally and physically assail the assassins after they push him too far you get to see the heroic figure Bernthal consistently has portrayed. Ethan truly feels like the quietly humble hero of his community who sacrifices all he has to keep them safe, a brilliant character arc that I loved watching.

The issue with Those Who Wish Me Dead is that the driving force behind the assassins and the reason the main kid is on the run is pretty vague and generic. The first act spends a lot of time packaging this story that the District Attorney and Connor's Dad have concocted a big case that would expose several undisclosed people in power. So now there are precisely two hit men going around offing anyone linked to the investigation. Yet the details around the investigation are never anything more than vague, and the organisation the hit men seem to work for is kept away at an arm's length. The film knows what situation it wants to get into but is reluctant to really analyse the motives behind why we get there. This unfortunately does have the result of the story not really feeling fully developed. Throughout the film we spend a lot of time with the hit men antagonists, the deputy sheriff, Connor and his Dad and actually very little time with Hannah and Connor on the run. So all te intensity of the killers hunting the young kid is bottlenecked into a very short window of time. Even the promise of a raging forest fire as a threat doesn't really have much impact barring a five to ten minute window. The end of the film reaches a conclusion that ticks off some boxes but can't fully be described as a satisfying conclusion due to the hasty end of some characters and leaving many plot threads unexplored or unanswered. The cinematography for the film was only working hard when establishing and helicopter/crane shots were involved; otherwise it was drab mid shot after drab mid shot. The editing for the film was remarkably slow paced as well, often lingering for far longer than was really necessary and stretching out sequences for all they were worth.

Finn Little, who played Connor, is a young performer who doesn't always feel genuine with the emotions he is portraying in multiple scenes; Little is a kid who can cry on cue and look sad but he never convinces me that he can genuinely portray grief. Nicholas Hoult, who played Patrick, is a strange moment of casting in my eyes; Hoult is a very adept performer but is delegated to little more than the henchman role with barely any lines in this feature. Jake Weber, who played Owen, should maybe have focused a little more on playing the father figure rather than the dead serious exposition delivery device; Weber's role is significant because of his bond with Little's Connor but this relationship doesn't feel very sincere in the film. Tyler Perry, who played Arthur, is this mysterious cloak and dagger boss of the films antagonists but has very little reason to actually show up. having someone like Perry in this big scene cameo felt like an indulgent moment the feature didn't need to take.

 

While an entertaining and fun premise, Those Who Wish Me Dead never does anything to make itself a truly memorable 2021 thriller. I would give Those Who Wish Me Dead a 6/10.

Mainstream

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Mainstream is a feature that follows Frankie, a girl looking for a means to express herself who inadvertently gets on the fast track to internet fame when she begins film a stranger she meets: Link. Working together to cultivate Link into a major internet celebrity known as 'No One Special', the film examines the rise and dangers of social media stardom. I really enjoyed this feature when it managed to zero in on the core themes it clearly hopes to explore; specifically how social media celebrity is quite dark, manipulative and devoid of accountability. Watching scenes taken from the 'Phone or Dignity' talk show or the sharp contrast between the funeral for the girl who died as a result of Link's bullying while he posts an empty apology video is extremely relevant to current culture. That last scene in which we see the truth of a vulnerable girl who died while Link pours his entire energy into stripping himself of blame for her suicide is a horrifying yet poignant moment that is the absolute best thing this film has to offer.

 

Jason Schwartzman, who played Mark Schwartz, feels like a great fit as the sleazy marketing agent for the rise to internet stardom; Schwartzman has this insatiable need to hype up every moment whenever he enters into a scene which makes his role a nice accompaniment to Garfield's.

 

However, the best performance came from Andrew Garfield, who played Link. I was so baffled by the enigma that was this character at first, he feels like a shapeshifter settling on a form initially. In a lot of ways, I felt this experimenting approach works well for Garfield, crafting a young man who is both mysterious and a chameleon. Quite like the protagonist, this guy is someone you want to solve; a person who you want desperately to be able to define. Garfield is so charismatic and naturally appealing that you are slowly won over like the rest of the characters by his peculiar charm. But once this role skyrockets into fame something dark comes to light. It's fascinating because the entitled, vain celebrity who bullies guests on his show and launches into hysterical tirades has always been present. It isn't surprising that we come to dislike Garfield, it's just we were framed to like him at first. Now the tilt into this hostile and manipulative celebrity is what we're confronted with. It all culminates into this jaw-dropping final scene in which Garfield crafts this conceited satire of an internet 'apology' video, the defining scene of the film.

The prevailing issue I took with Mainstream is that it never fully seems to understand how to depict social media culture and celebrity. Whether that be from the classic title cards at the start of the film, the amateur state of the so-called 'viral' videos, the idea that a Youtuber would segway from vlog-like content to some strange game show is but a taste of the content that doesn't really work well as social media representation. Then to top it off the film goes into overdrive to relate itself back to its social media content; including a very over the top moment in which the protagonist vomits broken heart and love heart emojis. The protagonist herself seems like a quiet witness in her own story; she pushes Link into his stardom with little motivation as to why she desires this and then proceeds to just watch from the sidelines as he implodes. The fact Frankie is such an inactive protagonist makes the plot lose a lot of its push, the only scenes that matter are the instances in which the theme actually manages to land. The cinematography for the film shows a lack of experience, with a number of poorly framed scenes or attempts at creativity that fall flat. The editing sets a very slow static pace and has a number of unique effects or transitions that are used inconsistently. The score for the film doesn't really feel like it has a presence and the soundtrack doesn't even have a very vibrant modern-indie appeal.

Maya Hawke, who played Framkie, isn't a very strong protagonist for this particular feature; Hawke has a soft presence and never really showcases how her character responds to things so much as she shows how her character watches moments play out. Nat Wolff, who played Jake, has dome this exact role quite a bit now that it's gotten a little stale; watching Wolff play the pining best friend who wants a happily ever after is about as cut and dry as one could expect.

A film that fails to really grasp or present Youtube/influencer culture well, even when trying to condemn them. I would give Mainstream a 4/10.

 

Wrath Of Man

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Wrath Of Man follows H, an enigmatic individual who joins a cash truck security business in an effort to track down the thieves who were responsible for the murder of his son. This film takes a long time to reveal what it is, and even then not all of those pieces go very well together. In saying that the film really comes alive the further and further you get to peer behind the veil and see the truth behind some of the characters. The flashback scenes in which we get to see H as the head of a criminal empire, with connections so widespread that he can go through town torturing and killing in a bid to extract information, is remarkably well done. It's a serious tonal shift where the action feels very real and grounded, rather than a one man army against the baddies. The power H wields to get what he desires is the power of fear, and it is a really intimidating batch of scenes. The final act of the film holds the audience pretty well too, with an intricate and violent heist being laid out that is contrasted severely by the real time events being performed. The cinematography for the film is very driven towards intensity, there are big dramatic shots that track fast with the action to craft excellent action sequences.

 

Holt McCallany, who played Bullet, had to chew through some peculiar dialogue but made great work with what he was given; McCallany had a soft sense of machismo while employing a copious amount of charisma making him a likeable mentor/leader figure. Jeffrey Donovan, who played Jackson, was great as the leader of the antagonistic heist group; Donovan's role felt intelligent and remarkably adept at profiling and handling a high stakes confrontation like the ones he created. Scott Eastwood, who played Jan, was like a wild animal amongst the cast in the best way possible; Eastwood's role was a dark killer with little interest in the rules and all-consuming greed that ultimately becomes his downfall. Darrell D'Silva, who played Mike, steals the show for me as Statham's right hand man throughout the feature; D'Silva is quietly aggressive and has a mild manner towards bringing the hammer down hard on behalf of his boss which really makes the character all the more fascinating.

 

However, the best performance came from Jason Statham, who played H. This central role was interesting to watch because while he was initially quite deferring and courteous, there was an intensity about him that promised something more. In this manner Statham built up a role who was an intriguing enigma, some one you were waiting to see become fully unleashed. As the first act progressed this was swiftly satisfied with H proving to be an efficient marksman and smooth liar. Statham inhabits a role who can unveil menace with a glance, shifting the entire tone of a scene. Once h is unveiled to be a crime boss the smooth if not aggressive operator he truly is comes to light and the action becomes all the more gripping. I really enjoyed watching Statham present a dark, yet strangely moral, take on the pound for a pound theme.

This is a very disjointed film to watch from a storytelling perspective, the layout is really messy and it doesn't do a great job exploring different characters or story angles. For instance, the first act of the film is really dull to watch and takes the premise of setting the story to a slow extreme. We watch H steadily gain himself employment with the armour truck company, get chummy with his fellow staff and conduct several days of business. It's not engaging stuff and the dialogue is so bizarre that it rarely feels like you have characters speaking in a very grounded way at all. By the time we hit the first action scene it would be fair to say the audience is bored and not really surprised by H's obvious display of skill at firing a gun, in fact none of the twists of the film will shock the average movie-goer much. Then the second act tilts things in a nutty way, H is a crime boss who is daylighting as an armoured truck driver. That's some sabbatical! The film just never justifies someone with the power H wields needing to squirrel down solo to take out those who wronged him. More than this, H seems to randomly have the backing of the FBI; a connection that is never expressly explored. As the second act begins to wrap we are very lately introduced to the heist team that has been targetting armoured cars, antagonists who suddenly get a lot of screen time despite the film almost being over. This influx of a whole crew of new characters came across as rushed and their heist plan being narrated while failing in real-time was a pretty played out trope. The editing for the film struggled to cut precisely, sometimes lingering on a shot for longer than was needed or ruining the flow of a sequence with an awkward sudden cut. The score for the film was the same disquieting drone over the entire thing, it was so starkly repetitive that it lost impact pretty early on.

Josh Hartnett, who played Boy Sweat Dave, is such a weak-willed character that it becomes hard to picture him as an armoured car driver; Hartnett's attempts to craft boyish rivalry with Statham's character fall flat and make for a dull sub-plot. Andy Garcia, who played Agent King, is a character who is as confusing as he is unnecessary; Garcia tries to be this enigmatic powerful force in the film but that comes across as counter-intuitive given we never really come to know him as a character. Eddie Marsan and Rob Delaney, who played Terry and Boss Blake Halls respectively, are very odd pair who don't gel well into the tone of this film; Marsan is a little too straight-edged and dull while Delaney's natural tendency towards comedy is lost in such a gritty feature. Niamh Algar, who played Dana, is boxed into this stereotypical hotshot tomboy character; Algar really dials up her role's 'macho' streak a ludicrous amount that it becomes the defining trait of her character. Eli Brown, who played Dougie, is by no means a good fit to play Statham's son; the pair are an odd contrast that don't fit well together onscreen.

I've never really been disappointed by a Guy Ritchie film...until now. I would give Wrath Of Man a 6/10.